It didn't take long for me to get in the swing of things upon my arrival to Alert as I was Facebook-stalked weeks prior to landing here and given more than a hearty welcome on my first day which happened to fall on TGIF. After recovering from that debacle I was quickly taking part in sports activities, going on hikes and trying my hand at the daily events.
It quickly dawned on me after that first night at the bar how potentially expensive this tour could be in spite of the fact that beers cost a whopping $2.50. It was for that reason I approached our then Tradie, Karl to get a bartending job. One night, during our Alert Idol themed TGIF, I thought it would be a good idea to get dressed up and provide the audience with my rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody while also working the bar addressing everyone as sir or miss. Despite getting cut-off mid-song for time constraints and thus ruining my mid-song plan to take the tie off when I "just gotta get right outta here!", the night was enjoyable and a sign of good times to come while bartending.
With bartending only occupying my evenings about 4 or 5 nights a month, I still had plenty of time to kill on useless endeavours. One such project was a GAW-thic Plink game that Graham, my co-op student at the time, and myself dreamed up to use as a new bar game while bartending during the Medieval Times themed TGIF. Although quickly labeled as a drinking game and thus outlawed, our game was still a very capable rain-maker.
Once Bruce, the old trash-man and barber departed Alert I had the opportunity to take over the barber shop. I opted instead to allow Myriam, a girl and thus infinitely more qualified hair-stylist, to take over the shop. After she had departed Alert and some time had gone by with no volunteers I decided to take up the job with my only prior experience even remotely similar being landscaping a lawn, a far more forgiving canvas. For about 5 months now I've been the resident barber and seeing as I've had some pleased return customers I think I've done pretty well for myself. For the customers who leave my shop less than satisfied I tell them the old saying. The difference between an Alert haircut and a good haircut is 3 weeks.
If having two part-time jobs in addition to my full-time job at the GAW lab wasn't enough, I had always wanted to be a member of the volunteer fire-fighting team in Alert. However, since I'm at the lab at least three days a week the previous Bandit (the second in command to Smokey, the actual trained fire-fighters on the station) thought it was unacceptable as I would be unable to respond to alarms which are typically training excercises. With the arrival of the new Bandit, Neil, came a far more practical approach to the situation: fires most commonly occur at night, the Fire Team needs all the volunteers it can get and training can always be switched to a different day of the week. With that I was able to partially fulfill a childhood fantasy by becoming a proud member of the Alert Fire Department.
Given my involvement in sports activities on the station and my history of participation in organized sports it was only a matter of time before I would be recognized as the Station's Sports Representative in the Mess Committee. Before a position can be obtained one must be nominated and then the nominees voted on. In the past when I had expressed an interest in becoming the sports rep there had been others interested and so I graciously declined allowing others to run unopposed. In March I decided to put an end to the somewhat disappointing line of organized sporting events by accepting my nomination as Sports Rep.
Unfortunately my timing of becoming the Sports Rep wasn't the best as a few weeks after I accepted the position Operation Nunalivut was slated to take place here in Alert. What this would mean is hundreds of additional people on station with not enough living quarters to accomodate them all thus the gym being converted into a two-star hostel. Before the Op started however, I was able to organize a very successful Badminton tournament which saw a total of 9 teams compete in a round robin tournament. Competitors were enthusiastic and the tournament went off without a hitch, thanks largely to having the prescence of mind to come up with a schedule for all teams participating. What that resulted in was a tournament with almost twice as many teams as the previous Badminton tournament lasting half as long and with unambiguous results.Next up? It is slated that people from the Op will be available to participate in outdoor activities April 21 and hopefully the resident military personnel on station will be given the afternoon off as well to allow for an Alert vs. Op Nunalivut competition. Although not officially announced as of yet the plan is an afternoon game of ultimate frisbee and soccer followed by an evening game of ice hockey, all in the splendor of the snowy, sunny outdoors.
I'll keep you posted!
Byron
Arctic adventurer extraordinaire
.JPG)
